Study of Serum Adiponectin and Chemerin in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Abstract

Objective : To study the levels of serum adiponectin and chemerin in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and their diagnostic role. Background : NAFLD is the most common cause of chronic liver disease, which is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Liver biopsy remains the gold standard for its diagnosis, but it is an invasive procedure. Chemerin and adiponectin can be possible noninvasive diagnostic markers. Patients and method : sThis prospective study was conducted from March 2020 to October 2021 on 90 participants including 60 patients with NAFLD and 30 age-matched and sex-matched healthy individuals as a control group. All were subjected to history taking, complete medical examination, thorough laboratory, and radiological investigations. Serum chemerin and adiponectin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique, and liver stiffness was measured by point shear wave elastography (pSWE). Results : There was a highly statistically signi fi cant elevation of serum chemerin levels and pSWE measurements in patients with NAFLD than the control group. There was a highly statistically signi fi cant decrease of serum adiponectin levels in patients with NAFLD than the control group. Serum chemerin levels can predict patients with simple steatosis (at a cutoff point of > 280 ng/ml), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (at a cutoff point of > 698 ng/ml), and cirrhosis (at a cutoff point of > 997.5 ng/ml), with area under the curve (AUC) of 0.988, 0.951, and 1, respectively, whereas adiponectin levels can predict simple steatosis (at a cutoff point of < 9 m g/ml), NASH (at a cutoff point of < 6.95 m g/ml), and cirrhosis (at a cutoff point of < 5.40 m g/ml), with AUC of 0.996, 0.999, and 0.984, respectively. Liver stiffness measurements by pSWE can predict patients with simple steatosis (at a cutoff point of > 6.10 kPa), NASH (at a cutoff point of > 6.85 kPa), and cirrhosis (at a cutoff point of > 9.85 kPa), with AUC of 0.928, 0.984, and 1.00, respectively. Conclusion : Serum chemerin, adiponectin, and pSWE can be used as noninvasive parameters for diagnosis of NAFLD.